Loading device



March 1942- .1. B. FULTON LOADING DEVICE Filed June 15, 1940 2 Sheets Sheet March 24, 1942. J. B. FULTON 2 2,277,219

LOADING DEVICE Filed June 15, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 gvwwwboa Patented Mar. 24, 1942 LOADING DEVICE Joel B. Fulton, High Point, N. 0., asslgnor to Atlantic States Motor Lines, Inc., High Point,

Application June 15, 1940, Serial No. 340,801

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for stacking, loading and transporting heavy cylindrical articles and'more particularly to spool-shaped articles such as spools or beams for cordage which may be thread and the like.

The present invention relates more specifically to improved apparatus for binding the heavy spools or beams of commercial thread material so that the same may be handled in an expeditious manner and minimize any danger of damage during transportation. When spools of rayon thread, for example, are to be loaded and transported by trucks over long distances, con siderable time is consumed in properly bracing the cargo to prevent the load from shifting in costly damage to the thread on the spools as well as to the truck body.

' This is especially true when these heavy spools are placed in tiers or superimposed rows, and serious accidents have resulted due to sudden stops of the truck for unavoidable reasons. It will be remembered that these individual spools or beams of thread as they are sometimes called, frequently weigh a thousand pounds or more, and, therefore, it is necessary that they be loaded and anchored together in the container or vehicle body without taking too much time for a workman to bind the load.

The methods and apparatus heretofore employed in loading and stacking these spools of thread have consumed too much time and have been defective in properly preventing the accidental shifting of the rows of spools on the vehicle floor, during the usual vibration of the vehicle incident to ordinary transportation, or the individual spools of-a row.

One important object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of and apparatus for arranging cylindrical articles on the floor of a freight container such as a freight car or motor truck body so as to reduceto a minimum any danger of the load shifting during transportation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of apparatus for supporting and anchoring individual spools of thread together as well as a novel form of quick detachable load binding device for anchoring the spools to the floor or sides a: the container or truck body.

Another object of the invention .is to provide an apparatus of the character designated which shall reduce to a minimum special apparatus for stacking freight material of this kind and shall include a quick detachable load binding device having adjustable mechanism for quickly and effectively anchoring the units relative to the floor of the container as well as provide for accidental shifting of the unitsrelative to each l0 other under extreme conditions of transportation or hauling.

A further object of the'invention is to provide an apparatus of the character designated which shall be inexpensive and simple in construction and positive in operation to facilitate the container or truck body with a resulting the loading of spools, as well as reducing to a minimum the time usually required for the loading of the spools.

These and other objects of the invention will be more apparent from the accompanying speciiication and drawings and more particularly set forth in the claims.

In the drawings Fig. l is a vertical sectional view showing of apparatus constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; g v

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2;

0 I Fig, 4 is a perspective view of a load binding device;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the device shown Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of a spool base clamp;

Fig. 9 is a front view of the chain latch.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings,

there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention in which a plurality of cylindrical articles such as heavy spools of rayon thread indicated by the numeral III are loaded and stacked on the floor ll of a conventional form of truck body. indicated generally by dotted lines H. The truck floor is supported on a conventional type of angle iron frame members indicated by the numeral la.

The individual spools of thread loaded and stacked in accordance with the present invention are of the conventional type having end flange head members [4 and I5 and an integral axle I which may also be readily dismantled and stored which projects beyond the head'members as indicated. 'These heavy spools are sometimes called beams of thread in the textile art. The spools are loaded by placing a desired number of spools on the floor in aligned position and securing them in spaced relation by a pair of separate side plate members l1-l8, which extend adjacent to the heads of the spools in a row. These side plate members l1-| 8 are provided with a plurality of spaced apertures l9 which are a little larger than the axle members l6 of the individual spools. The spacing of these apertures is substantially the width of the conventional spool heads I4I5 so that the axles of the spools engaging the apertures of the plates hold the individual spools of .a row in fixed longitudinal spaced relation.

These plate spacer members are placed on opposite sides of the spools and are carried by the spool axles l6 to hold the individual spools in the desired form.

After the spools are thus spacedin alignment by the plate members, the plates l1-I8 are rigidly clamped to the spool heads at several places along the row by angle iron plate members I9 and and upper and lower tie rods indicated by the numerals 2| and 22, as shown in Fig. 3.

These individual tie rods are threaded-at their ends as indicated by the numerals 23 and 24 so as to receive nut members 25 and 26 respectively. It will thus be noted that by clamping the side plates l1 and [8 by the adjustable tie rods 2l22, the spools are held in rigid spaced relation as a row unit and all danger of any of the spools contacting or moving relative to each other so as to damage the thread is positively prevented in a most effective manner.

After this first unitary row of spools is placed on the truck body floor and secured as a rigid unit by the side members l1-l9 as above described, this unit is further anchored to the floor H by suitably placed flexible members such as anchor chains 2'I and 28. One end of the anchor chain 21, for example, is detachably connected to the side spool spacer members l1 by a plate member 29, and theother end of the chain is hooked to the floor frame by an eye member 30. As indicated in the drawings, the anchor chain 28 is toward the rear of a unit and the anchor chain 21 is at the forward end of the unit, each anchor chain being inclined in the opposite direction to give the desired bracing and anchoring effect.

Each of these anchor chains are detachably connected to the longitudinal side clamp members I1-I9 by heavy angle iron members 29, 29 provided with right angle flanges 3|32. Flange M is bolted to the side of H, for example, and the flange 32 projects outwardly from the side and includes an opening 33 connected by a relatively narrow vertical slot 34. The arrangement is such that a chain is received by the opening 33 and the narrow portion of a link is slipped or dropped into the slot 34 so that the sides of the slot shall grip the end of the adjacent link of the chain. Each chain for anchoring the respec ive side members to the floor of the truckis provided with a lever actuated tightener or load binding device 35. This device includes a fulcrumed lever 36 for drawing the chain tight and positively binding the spool unit side members to the floor of the truck as hereinafter more fully described.

The chain ightener is the same for all of the chains employed for anchoring the spool units to the floor and only one form of tightener for the chain 21 will be explained in detail. The chain tightener includes essentially a lever 36 having a forked end which ispivotally connected to a link 31 at its forward end by pivot pin 38. A U-shaped clevis member 39 has its open end pivotally connected rearwardly of the forward end of the lever as indicated by the numeral 40. The closed end of the clevis is connected to the chain end by a swivel connector indicated by the numeral 4|. The opposite end of the link 31 is connected to an end of the chain section 21, for example, at 42 as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

The link 31 is also provided near itsfree end with a notch 43. This notch is arranged to engage the pivot pin 40 so that the notch 43 permits the pivot 38 to fulcrum past the line of action of the connecting chain points 4| and 42 and thereby lock the lever 35 in the locked position by causing the same to pass over the center relative to the pivot 49.

An important feature of this loading device is that the load binding anchor chains 21 and 28 for the sides of the spool clamp members l 1-l8 may be attached to the floor and the respective chain link holders and then tensioned any desired amount by the load binding fulcrum device 35. It will be observed that by employing a load binding or chain tensioning device of the character described, the time consumed for proper and positively anchoring the spool units in the truck body is reduced to a minimum.

It it is desired to load and anchor a second row unit of spools, on the first row and anchor this second unit to the floor, this may be accomplished by providing a platform or partition 44 as shown in Fig. 3. This platform rests directly on the spool flanges of the lower row and is of ample width to receive the flanges of the spools of the. row to be formed thereon, as indicated. The spools of this superimposed row are now placed on the platforms and anchored in spaced relation by the same type of spacing and clamping members as heretofore described with reference to the first row. In this case a pair of longitudinally disposed side members 45 and 46 are provided with the same type of enlarged spaced apart apertures for securing the spool axles and the same type. of tie rod clamp members are employed as heretofore described. This second row unit of spools is now anchored to the floor by means of anchor chain members 41-48 located on opposite sides of the spool clamp members. These anchor chains are secured to the opposite ends of the spool clamp frame and extend in opposite directions to provide the desired and necessary anchoring function.

To further provide against any movement of the individual spools or the spool unit relative to the lower unit or'the container floor, the platfcrm may -be separately anchored by anchor chains, if desired. To further aid in retaining the platform so that it shall be held against displacement in any direction, the platform is provided with upper and lower angle iron guide plates 49 and 50 which are adjustably mounted as indicated in Figs. 3, 6 and 7. The top plate 49 engages the end flange of the upper spool and the lower plate 50 engages the flange of the lower spool as shown in Figs. 3 and 6. It will thus be noted that these plates provideagainst any lateral shifting of the platform relative to the lower row of spools and also prevents shifting of the upper spool row unit on the platform.

The plates 49 and 50 are each adjustably mounted on the platform 44 by any suitable means, such as a bolt 5| and a slot 52 provided in the side bearing portion of each plate. These angle plates 49 and 50 are adjustably mounted on upper and lower cross plate members 53 and 56 forming an integral part of the platform. These cross plates 53 and 54 also serve as reinforcing members for the ends of the platform.

To facilitate handling of the platform it is preferably made in sections and these sections are connected together in any suitable manner, as for example by the hook-and-eye connections 55 and 56 respectively.

One of the important features of a spool loading and binding device embodying the present construction is that the clamps for holding the spools together in rows and as rigid units, are in effect carried by the spools and may be dismantled and stored within the truck body with a minimum of space being occupied by this equipment; thereby permitting the truck body to be readily used for other freight or merchandise when it is not desired to transport beams or spools of thread. It will be further noted that by providing load binding or tensioning devices of the fulcrum lever type, thetime required for loading and anchoring these spools of thread is reduced to a minimum, thereby effecting a considerable saving in the expense of such operations.

What I claim is.-

L-Apparatus for stacking and loading spoolshaped\articles comprising in combination, a floor for receiving a plurality of spools in a row,

side clamp members for securing the spools together in rigid and spaced relation, means for anchoring the spool clamping members to the floor including a flexible member, a bracket member on each spool clamping member having means for detachably gripping different linear portions of the flexible member, and means for tensioning the flexible member to rigidly anchor the spool row unit to the floor.

. 2. Apparatus of the character described in claim 1 in which the flexible member is a link chain, and the bracket member on the spool clamping members includes an aperture for receiving the chain and a connecting slot for adjustablyengaging the links of the chain.

3. Apparatus of the character described in claim 1 in which the flexible member is a link chain and the tensioning means includes a vfulcrumed member for tensioning the chain to rigidly anchor the spool row unit to the floor.

4. Apparatus of the character described in claim 1 in which the bracket member includes an aperture formed therein and of a larger diameter than the flexible member for receiving the same, and a connection slot extending from the aperture and having edge'portions for gripping different linear portions of the flexible member when passed through said aperture and placed in said slot.

JOEL-B. FULTON. 

